


Brothers in Arms

by chaoticdean



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Adam Seaver deserved better, Alcohol, Bonding, Brotherhood, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Flashbacks, Gen, Guns, Mention of Racism, Military, Pregnancy, RAY PERRY IS A GOOD BRO, Rayson, THE PERRYS, Team as Family, U.S. Navy SEALs, War, gunfight, i have a lot of feelings about these two
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2020-10-17 08:04:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20617718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticdean/pseuds/chaoticdean
Summary: A study in 10 chapters on how Jason Hayes and Ray Perry became friends, co-workers, but most importantly —  brothers.Title is from "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits [x]





	1. The Draft

Jason rolled over the bed and got up on his feet quickly.

It was five in the morning, but the sun already peaked through the curtains. He'd fallen asleep only a couple hours back, but being on the Teams for a while now he had got used to the lack of sleep.

Alana was still asleep, obviously. He silently put on his clothes and left the room, reaching the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before he left for base. Today was a special day: Bravo was drafting a new kid.

* * *

_“As I'm sure most of you remember, Charlie Team had first pick at last year's Green Team's draft. This year's first pick belongs to Bravo!”_, the Officer starts.

Bravo and Charlie Team got together in one of the briefing room. A large wood panel stood against one wall, pictures of the Green Teamers who made it pinned on it.

As stated by the officer, Jason's team are drafting first, which is a huge advantage. They get to pick the green teamer they like the most, in regards of both his capacities and spirit.

Jason's team leader is Adam Seaver. He's been on the teams for years, and has been leading Bravo Team for a few. He's the one who decided to draft a young Jason Hayes a couple of years back. Adam is kind, determined and charismatic. He stands up for what he believes in no matter what, which is what Jason likes the most about his team leader.

Adam’s standing up in front of the panel, both hands in his pockets, looking at the pictures. There's nine green teamers, all male. Women can be Navy SEALs despite the common misconception that has been going around for years, but BUD/S are a pain in the ass for everyone and it’s pretty rare to see a woman show up amid their male counterparts nowadays.

McAllister, Williams, Perry, Queen, Allen, Armstrong, Miller, James, Rogers. All white guys, except for one black dude, Perry. Jason hadn’t formally met any of the new guys. He did cross path with McAllister and Queen on an op with Alpha team where they used them as straps, but that’s about it. Running into them at the cafeteria doesn’t count. He knows for a fact that both Adam and Brett — Bravo 2 — have been to several Green Team practices in the box to review them all. You don’t draft a green teamer every day, so you got to be prepared.

The officer runs down a few basics about each candidate, letting team members interrupt him from time to time with a question. Bravo’s first pick would most likely be one of the top three candidates: either McAllister, Williams or Perry.

Adam hasn’t moved yet, still facing the pictures. Jason is pretty sure he’s made his pick even before they got into the room. Brett is reading the paperwork on his laps, containing stats and written notes on each candidates. When the officer’s done talking, Adam turns around facing the crew.

_“What do you think?”_

_“McAllister seems like a solid first pick. He’s got a clean record, and good stats”_, Brett responded without even lifting his head up.

_“He might be a great pick regarding his abilities, but I’m sure he’d butt head with both Adam and Clark the minutes he gets on Bravo”_, Chris — Bravo 3 — follows up.

_“What about Perry?”_

The whole team goes silent on Jason. It’s the first time he’s expressed his opinion in the room this morning, and it’s not taken lightly.

_“What about Perry indeed? His stats are equally good as both McAllister and Williams, he’s shown a great amount of bravery and grit. He’s made to be a team guy. He’d be a good pick for Bravo, for sure.”_, the Officer weight in.

_“What do you think, boss?”_, Brett said raising his eyebrows at Adam.

Bravo 1 lets a subtle smile pass through his lips before he seals the deal.

_“We’re drafting Perry.”_


	2. 4 AM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray has made it to Bravo. Today is his first day... Well, if you count 4 am as 'today'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for all the positive comments and kudos on the first chapter! This took a bit longer than expected to come alive, but I'm gonna try to update this as smoothly as possible from now on :) Special thanks to my best friend @HardSquare for the ideas, proofreading and general positivity about this — you're my #1, brother.

Ray had always been an early riser, but being at work at 4 in the morning only to prep his new workspace up was a new low. Truth be told, he just couldn’t get to sleep because of the mixed stressed and excitation keeping him up.

He got drafted into **_Bravo_**.

Of all the Teams at DEVGRU, he got drafted in the only one he’d never even hoped to get in. It’s not that he didn’t believe he could, or because he doubted his capacities, but Bravo had a rep. They’re one of — if not **_the _**best team on the job. And he got **_in_**.

Enough with the self-boasting, Ray had to make his cage feels like home. He had brought his cases, which contains all of his belongings as well as some personal effects: pictures of his wife, a bible that had followed him everywhere since he enrolled, and some civilian clothes. He started to hang his gear on the rack when he heard the door opening up, and turned around to see who joined him.

_“Did you get any sleep at all?”_, Jason teased the new guy while making his way to his cage, a cup of coffee in his right hand and his bag on his shoulder. He was wearing a pair of worn-out jeans and a black Philadelphia Eagles hoodie, his cameo cap with Bravo’s logo backward on his head.

_“Not really, if I’m being honest. Guess I’m not the only one, uh?”_, Ray answered while getting back to hanging his gear.

_“My kid’s sleep schedule is complete chaos. I can sleep through an entire night in J-Bad, but Michael’s cries drive me nuts — Hi, I’m Jason”_, he said stretching out his hand to his fellowman.

_“Hi, Ray Perry. I’m the new guy.”_

_“Figured. Nice to meet you, man.”_

_“Likewise”_, Ray said while his counterpart sits down on the chair in front of his space, looking helplessly at his cup of coffee. _“It’s nice finally meeting the legendary Jason Hayes!”_

Jason chuckled. Of course, Ray knew about him. The guy was a legend amongst every new candidate who made it to Green Team. His records during his time there were still taken as an example by the instructors, and he was known to be a particularly talented and out-of-the-box-thinking Team Guy.

He might have been tired, but his face didn’t show. He looked a bit older than Ray, but not that much — 4 to 5 years, perhaps. Ray immediately felt at ease with the man.

_“How old is your kid?”_, Ray asked while placing his last case on the table between them both and starting to unpack it. SEALs cherish their gears, wherever they go it goes.

_“He’s two months old already. They grow up so fast, you wouldn’t believe. Do you have kids?”, _Jason answered sipping slowly at his coffee. He might not have shown tiredness at first, but the gigantic yawn he let slip said otherwise — the man was struggling.

_“No, not yet. I got married a few months back, so it’s definitely in our cards sometimes soon.”_

He smiled, taking the pictures lying inside his case in his hands. One of them was him and Naima sitting on a fence in front of the beach in San Diego just a few weeks back. Ray had a few days off for the first time in a very long while, and they decided to cross half the country on an impulse just to spent some time together away from their usual scene. The two other pictures were a photo booth they’d done in Brooklyn 3 years ago shortly after they met, and a picture of Ray’s parents. He got back to his cage and set it up on the door of his locker. 

He took a few steps back to look at his work, and breathe a sigh of relief realizing he was pleased with it. He turned away and noticed that Jason was looking at him slightly amused, still sipping on his coffee. 

“_Are you poking fun at me, already?”_, Ray said frowning.

_“I wouldn’t dare! Did you get a case of beer?”, _Jason asked, avoiding the previous question.

_“Of course I did. I wouldn’t risk my first day on Bravo without it. Exactly how much teasing am I looking at for probably picking the wrong kind of beer?”_, Ray asked suddenly nervous. 

Jason laughed while getting up to look at the case Ray had put next to the door of his cage. It was American beer, just the kind he liked. But he knew damn well the Team was going to break Ray’s balls anyway.

_“Well, it’s not _that bad_. But you’re still gonna have to endure the teasing, even for bringing the right kind of beer!”_ he chuckled.

Jason finished his cup of coffee while Ray changed into his military clothes. It was still early, but the rest of the Team should be here any minute now. He was lacing his shoes when the door opened brutally on Adam and Swanny.

_“GOOOOOD MORNING USAAAA”_, Brett yelled at them while Adam seemed to have a hard time keeping a straight face.

_“Good morning to you too, sunshine!”, _Jason said while getting up from his chair and shaking hands with the big guy.

“_All good, Perry? Did Jason behave himself?”, _Adam teased shaking hands with Ray.

_“Hey! I’m civilized! Of course, I behaved!”, _Jason interrupted.

The rest of the Team quickly followed the arrival of Bravo 1 and 2, and everyone changed into military clothes. After exchanging handshakes with every one of his new teammates, Jason discretely waved at Ray. The new guy followed his partner out of the room and into the briefing room.

It was quiet in there, considering the only people in there besides the two of them were a couple of straps and the lieutenant commander, Eric Blackburn. He greeted Ray with a firm handshake while Jason poured himself another cup of coffee.

_“D’you want one by any chance?”_ he asked the two men.

_“I’m good Jason. Rough night uh?”_, Blackburn answered him a smile on his face.

_“Don’t do kids Blackburn. They’re evil. Don’t do kids Ray, you hear me? Satan’s in the house”,_ Jason yawned finally sitting down on his chair.

He nodded at the chair next to him while looking at his new team member. The rest of the team slowly took its place in the briefing room, and Ray sat down next to Jason.

_“Fellas, you’ve got yourself a new team member. I count on you all to help him integrate as smoothly onto Bravo. Ray, welcome home.” _Blackburn said, locking eyes with Ray as he said the last sentence.

The room went quiet for a second, but he could see the smiles on his newfound brothers' faces. 

While Blackburn went on and started his briefing, Ray couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed for a minute.

**_Home_**. He made it **_home_** to Bravo.


	3. Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and the team get back from Yemen after a complicated op; which happens to be Ray's first op with Bravo Team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was meant to be posted a while ago but I couldn't wrap my head around the ending. I promise the next couple of chapters will be posted quicker :)

The inside of the C-7 never looked that much like a home to Jason when they finally got out of their mission in Yemen that night. Three days of literal hell, with them hiking their ass over a mountain, terrorists on their ass. Not that Jason minded the hiking and terrorist chasing part of the op, it’s the fact that he nearly got pinned down and therefore nearly got the Team in danger that bothered him.

Enough with the guilt tripping questioning — what’s done is done. There’s no need to dwell on it anymore. Jason catches Blackburn’s questionning look going over his shoulder to Perry’s who’s setting his hamac next to his. Dropping his rucksack on the floor, he quickly makes his way to the lieutenant commander, who gives him two cans of beer as soon as he stands in front of him.

_“Close call, uh?”_ Blackburn said, half a smile on his lips. Jason got to know him fairly well over his years at Bravo, and quickly clicked with the guy.

The lieutenant commander was a man of few words, but he knew exactly how to handle each and every one of his guys. He might be a cake-eater, but Jason would argue that he was the only cake-eater he could stand since he got into the Navy. Which, by the way, is saying something if you knew Jason Hayes.

_“Yeah. Almost got pinned down. If it wasn’t for Perry over here, I might have had.”_ Jason answered his superior.

_“Hell of a first day.”_

_“Yeah. I think we really crushed that first pick, you know?”_

Blackburn smiled at him with a warm look, which got Jason to frown at him.

_“What?”_

_“You do know that Adam was locked on McAllister from the start, right?”_ Blackburn answered, still sporting the same smile. Jason frowned even more.

_“For real? But he seemed so convinced about Perry from the get-go..”_

_“Yeah. Because you suggested it.”_

Jace let a soft laugh pass his lips. There was no way in hell Adam changed his mind because he — Bravo 4 — suggested someone else. Blackburn’s eyes were still pointed at him.

_“No way in hell Adam changed his mind because of a suggestion I made.”_

_“Well, that wasn’t much of a suggestion. You seemed pretty adamant about the man. And apparently, rightfuly so, since he’s saved your ass already” the lieutenant commander winked at the operator, throwing another can of beer at him. “Get this to your friend over there. He deserves it.”_

He quickly turned around and got back to his corner. Ray was sitting down inside of his hamac, apparently writing something down in a black notebook. Jason sat down inside his hamac, facing his partner, and handed him the other beer. Ray looked at him with a questionning look, unsure if it was for real or another “messing with the new guy” crap.

_“Come on, take it. Courtesy of Blackburn over here.”_ Jason said.

_“Do I need to take that as a compliment?”_ Ray answered, popping his can open.

_“Yeah, for saving my ass you can. I probably wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t act so quickly. So take this as some sort of truce for now. But don’t worry, I’ll be back to breaking your balls by the time we land. At least for another week.”_

Ray chuckled at his friend, sipping on his beer. He had been on Bravo for a week already, and what a week. 3 days on an OP in Yemen, and he’d already earned Jason Hayes’ respect. He took a look around, only to see most of his teamates either asleep or talking in small groups. Swanny and Adam were sitting next to each other in a corner of the plane, also sipping on their beer and probably bickering with each other as they do best. He chuckled lightly. No place he’d rather be.

**

_“Seat’s taken?”_

Jason smiled at Ray who was sitting at the bar drinking a glass of whiskey. He sat down next to him, wave at the bartender to get him to refill his friend’s glass and give him the same.

_“I thought you’d be going home right after we landed.”_

_“Nah. Naima doesn’t get out of work until at least 8 tonight, so I figured I’d grab a drink first. What about you? Don’t you have somewhere else to be right now?”_, Ray answered his friend.

_“Alana’s off to her parents with the kids. She’s only getting back tomorrow. Figured I could use a drink after all.”_

The bartender came back with two glass of whiskey on the rocks that he neatly put in front of each of them. Ray raised an eyebrow at his counterpart.

_“What’s that for?”_

_“Saving my ass?”_

_“I thought we went through this already. Seriously, brotha, you can’t keep handing me drinks forever on this. Or I’m gonna get reeeeal comfy real quick!”_, Ray answered with a smile on his face.

Jason smiled at the ‘brother’ mention. It hadn’t even been a week since Ray got here, but he could tell it was something different. Sure, he was close to Swanny or Adam. They were his brothers too. But it took him time at first to click with them. They went from superior, to teamates, to friends, and then to brothers. With Perry, everything seemed different. First off, he already saved his ass once. That was worth the ‘brother’ title, 100%.

**

Ray decided to let everything sink in for a minute. In the span of two weeks, he got drafted into the Team he wanted to be drafted in the most, completed his first mission without a scratch, managed to gain his partners trust almost right away, and made himself a brother of Jason Hayes. If he wasn’t such a believer, he would say that something bad was about to happen to him because there was no way in hell he got such a positive karma all of the sudden. But then again, Ray Perry was a believer.

_“Hey, didn’t you say your girl gets off at 8?”_ Jason said, slowly taking a sip of his third drink of the night

_“Um yeah, actually she should be off in a minute. Why? Do you want me gone?”_ Ray teased his newly found friend, one eyebrow raised at him.

_“Nah, I was thinking you could tell her to join us you? You know, I have to see what Mrs Perry has to say about you”_ Jason answered, half a smile on his lips.

Ray smiled back at his friend. He’d admit he had the thought of texting his girl and asking her to join them, but the fact that Jason offered it before him made his heart burst out a little.

Not even 15 minutes after, Naima made her way through the front door. Ray didn’t even have to stop and look back to know she was there; his entire body could feel her. That’s the way things were between the two of them: rock solid, very often they could feel each other presence without having to look back. They had been married a few months already, but had been together for 3 years, more or less. Ray liked to say that she saved him the moment their eyes crossed. He was a real mess before he met her back in a hospital bed.

Her arms went down on his shoulders and suddenly she was pressed against his back, her arms around him. He chuckled and turned back to kiss her, and then introduced her to Jason who was looking at them while slowly drinking his beer.

_“Jason, this is my wife Naima. Babe, meet Jason Hayes.”_ Ray introduced the two of them.

_“Okay, Naima, what are you drinking?”_

_“A beer will do. So – how’s my husband doing?”_

Ray chuckled. Oh yeah, he had a feeling those two were about to get along really good. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing for him or not just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Please leave kudos and comment :)
> 
> Twitter/Tumblr/Insta : @HitTheRoadJus


	4. Ain't no rest for the wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they go out, they go out hard. A regular tuesday night with Bravo Team out in bars is all it takes for Jason and Ray to bond some more.

_“Shhhh! You’re gonna wake the kids up!”_

_“KIDS?! I thought you had _ ** _a_ ** _ kid!”_

Jason chuckled as both he and Ray dropped into his couch. It was pretty late at night, or really early in the morning for that matter. They went out with the rest of Bravo earlier, celebrating a successful end to their latest mission. Most of the others went home after a couple of drinks, but the two youngest of the pack stayed behind and went at it pretty hard. 

_"Sure, I have a _**_baby_**_, and a kid as well. Emma turned 5 a few weeks back. Michael's 7 months old. So don’t get too loud because if either one of them even slightly wake up: I’m gonna be in deep troubles”_ Jason added, struggling to get his legs up on the coffee table.

The whole house was silent, except for these two grown men having a hard time keeping calm. Ray let a laugh slip past his lips before he dropped his head against the seat and closed his eyes for a sec. He felt good, no he felt **_great_**. When he first joined the Navy he was such a hot mess, ready to take it out on anyone willing to face him. Of course, after meeting Naima things started to get better and ultimately he never went back to his old self as he kept growing and becoming better — but joining Bravo a few weeks back really set him on the right path. He feels great sure, but above all he feels **_complete_** like never before. And turns out it has a lot to do with Jason Hayes.

_“I can’t believe you let me go a month without telling me you had _ ** _two kids_ ** _, brother.”_

_“You know what, I think it has to do with the fact you never pay attention to what I’m saying.”_

_“I’m sorry, who d’you think you’re talking to? Swann is the one never paying attention to anything or anyone! I’m the one listening when you go off about hockey, when I never even watched a damn game. Don’t patronize me Hayes!”_

Jason grinned at his friend before he went full-on offended.

_“I’m sorry — did you just say you’ve never watched a hockey game?!”_

_“I love that you sound so offended by the simple thought of it. I did watch a few games when I was younger, but I literally don’t understand any of them rules.”_

_“Tell you what, next Game Night you’re coming over with the beer.”_

Both of them chuckled a bit too loudly, which resulted in Jason covering he and Ray’s mouth with both his hands while they tried to contain themselves.

_“Oh man. I’m so wasted. Naima’s gonna have me in the doghouse for the rest of the week, 100%”_

_“Why don’t you stay on the couch tonight? You told me she’s working until early morning, just text her and stay here. But I gotta warn you: Michael’s an early riser.”_

_“You sure Alana won’t mind?”_ Ray asked with concerns for his friend’s wife, who he didn’t get to meet yet

_“Are you kidding me? She’s used to Swanny waking up on the couch every other regular Tuesdays, so don’t worry about it. Plus, she’s been asking about you and when we should meet with your girl, so all in all you know, it’s a win-win situation here” _Jason added with a smile on his face.

There was a silent beat in the room, none of it being uncomfortable but rather soothing to both of them.

_“Do you ever think back to where you were at 18, look back and still get amazed at what you’ve got now?”_ Ray asked after a while, breaking the satisfying calm filling the atmosphere

_“I mean, yeah sometimes. But to tell you the truth, me and Alana were engaged at 18 already. I had a pretty clear laid out path ahead of me.”_

_“High school sweethearts, uh? See, I do remember what you say!”_ Ray responded while Jason chuckled lightly

_“Yeah, our parents were friends and we went to the same elementary school. She literally saved me from drowning, that’s how we became friends. Here we are, decades later, two kids and a house.”_

_“I met Naima after a fight that took me to the hospital. She’s the one who patched me up in the ER.”_

_“For real?!”_ Jason asked with a laughter, looking at his friend grinning at the ceiling _“What did you get yourself into?”_

_“I was a mess back then, brother. Always ready for some sort of fight, just eager to get my anger out on anyone. It wasn’t pretty.”_

_“Is it why you joined the Navy?”_

_“Yeah, maybe. I needed to have a sense of purpose that neither my friends or family gave me. My dad pushed me to enlist into the US Army for some time. So of course, I joined the Navy just to prove a point.”_ he grinned at the memory _“But I realized soon after that he never did care about what branch of the Army I’d join, as long as it kept me together instead of falling appart.”_

_“Truth is, I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t a SEAL.”_

_“Same, brother. Same.”_

The silence filled the room once more. After a time, Jace looked at his watch and rise up on his feet with difficulty.

_“We should get a couple hours of shut eye before Mickey tear it all up. There’s a couple of blankets on the other side of the couch. Good night, brother.”_

Ray kept his eyes open for a while, staring at the ceiling while the night started to fade into the morning colors of the sun. He fell asleep thinking about how blessed he truly felt after thinking he wouldn’t make it past his twenties.

**

A sudden loud cry woke a very tired Raymond Perry up. He quickly assessed the fact that he was not in a familiar environnement before a very strong headache hit him up, to which he responded with a smooth groan.

_“Hey stranger.”_

The feminine voice took him by surprise, but he quickly remembered about being at Jason’s after last night’s too many at the bar.

_“You must be Alana. Hi, I’m Ray —“_

_“Perry, yeah I know. Nice to meet you Ray.”_

She shook Ray’s hand with a smile on her face, while the baby resting on her hip looked at him with curiosity.

_“Cute kid. Michael, I’m guessing?”_

_“Yep. He’s usually an early riser, but he slept in this morning. Looks like both you and Jace had a bit of luck on that hand”_ she chuckled while making her way to the kitchen.

She sat Michael down in his high-chair and got his bottle ready. Ray set his feet on the ground and took his head between both his hands.

_“Rough night, uh? I figured, since it’s past 9am and Jason is still asleep… It’s either that or it’s the end of the world and he turned into a zombie. Coffee?”_ she chuckled as Ray made his way to the kitchen table.

_“Oh god, yes”_ he said in one breath, _“that would be amazing, thank you.”_

Two cups of coffee and loud chats finally woke Jason Hayes up. He silently joined them, poured himself a cup of coffee and didn’t say a word until he poured himself a second one.

_“Goddamit Ray, we should probably never drink again.”_

_“Remember this exact same sentence next time we’re left alone in a bar on a Tuesday night, brother”_ Ray said as Alana chuckled at the two of them bickering.

Right after they drank their third cup of coffee, Alana was already making plans for both he and Naima to come over the Hayes’ household the next week. Ray felt as much at ease with her as he felt with Jason from Day 1. He promised to discuss the date with Naima and left his friends after a fourth one, and quickly made his way to his place. As he parked the car in the driveway he heard the familiar tone of Bravo’s alert on his phone.

** _Ain’t no rest for the wicked, amirite?_ **


	5. Who am I if not seen through your eyes?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray's life takes a new turn for the better, and Jason is unexpectedly asked to be a part of it somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know I sucked at getting this updated — it's almost been 4 full months since my last chapter! — but I swear to God I'll make it up to you. Someone you know and love is going to make his first appearance in the next chapter, and I'm really excited to bring his Texan ass into this :) I hope you like this chapter!!
> 
> As always, thanks to my friends Camille & Sarah for proof-reading this! I'd be nowhere without y'all.

It’s 3 am when Ray sneaks inside his house. They’ve landed about 20 minutes before and despite his teammates’ best and creative efforts to have him party with them all, all he wanted was to go home to Naima as quickly as possible.

He navigates his way through their house like a ninja in the dark and sneaks inside their bedroom with the ease of a cat. Quickly stripping his clothes off, he then dives smoothly into bed, softly pressing his chest against Naima’s back. By the time he closes his arms around her waist, he can hear her breath accelerating, meaning he most likely woke her up. Shit.

_“Hey, stranger,”_ she says, her voice still heavy with sleep

_“I didn’t mean to wake you up babe, go back to sleep”_ he answers, brushing a soft kiss on her cheek.

She quickly flips over to face him, immediately pressing herself back into his arms. Her hand reaches up to find Ray’s cheek in the darkness. She glides her fingers over the scruff of his beard, cupping her husband’s face in her hand.

_“I missed you”_ she whispers against his lips before kissing him softly.

All the tension from the mission fades away at that moment, and Ray melts into his wife’s kiss. He loves his job and his brothers, but his entire life doesn’t mean anything if he can’t come home to Naima.

_“Are you okay?”_ He asks after a while, peppering kisses on her cheek and temple.

_“Yes. Did you tell them?”_ she asks, a hint of anxiety sneaking past her voice

Ah, yes. The grand announcement happened on the way back from Iran, in the back of the C-17 where both he and Jason set up their hammocks and were sharing one last beer before getting some shut-eye.

**

_“Well, that was a milk run!”_ Jason said, gulping the rest of his beer right away

_“Talk for yourself man, I’m the one who had to drag your ass off that damn mountain. My legs still ache” _Ray teased his partner, cheeky smile on his face “_How’s your shoulder, by the way?”_

_“It’s fine, the bullet just grazed me, man. Nothing to worry about.”_

_“Someone has to worry about your sorry ass. I don’t make the rules.”_

_“Let’s go to the gym first thing in the morning tomorrow, we’ll see who’s ass is sorry”_ Jason teased.

_“No can do my friend. No can do.”_

_“What do you mean no can do? Isn’t Naima working?”_

Ray took a deep breath. Being stressed out about this was completely stupid, considering how many life-or-death situations he and Jason had been in for the past year. He locked eyes with his partner, who was already raising an eyebrow at him.

_“Yeah, about that… I have something important to tell you.”_

_“Oh, fucking finally!”_ Jason burst out laughing _“I thought this day would never come!!”_

_“Yeah, keep it down brother, I haven’t told anyone yet… But yeah, Naima’s pregnant. Baby Perry’s landing in January”_ Ray blurted out.

There was a gigantic smile on his partner’s face. Jason finally got up on his feet and pulled Ray into a gigantic hug. He was still laughing.

_“Man this is so great. I’m happy for you. How’s Naima doing?”_ He asked, sitting back on his bench _“Ah wait, this calls for another beer.”_

Ray watched as his partner went back to the cooler and grabbed two more beers for them to share.

_“She’s doing great, actually. She’s kicking ass as usual. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this energetic before”_ Ray said, watching as Jace set back into his spot.

_“So, when are you telling the boys then?”_ Jace asked right away.

He popped both cans open and handed one to Ray, his eyes staring. Ray took a quick sip of his beer before answering with a cheeky smile.

_“Actually, there’s something I need to do before I tell them.”_

_“What’s that smile about?”_ Jason asked, eyebrow raised in an almost comical attempt at making Ray uncomfortable — which, by the way, always worked.

_“Okay, don’t freak brother. Naima and I thought… Well, I suggested it and Naima immediately agreed—“_

_“You’re the worst at telling stuff, you know that?” _Jason stopped him with a teasing smile,_“We’re wasting valuable sleeping time just because you’re fucking _**_rambling_**_, Perry.”_

Ray took a deep breath, his eyes locking with his best friend’s knowing look. What the hell was he nervous for? Ray didn’t have any actual brother, but over the year they had just spent with one another, the closest person he had to a real brother was Jason.

_“We want you to be our baby’s godfather. If you’ll have us.”_

There was a stunning silence for a couple of seconds. Jason looked like he’d both been punched in the face and asked to ride a unicorn. Somehow it frightened Ray. He and Naima didn’t include a scenario where Jason punch him in the face and said “no, absolutely fucking not, eat shit”, so he just sat there, patiently waiting for his friend to come to his senses. Which he did, finally.

_“For real? Like, you really want _**_me_**_ to be of guidance to your kid?” _He asked, almost in disbelief. _“Do you really think it’s wise?”_ he added with a laugh.

_“Well, yeah. You’re the closest thing I have to a brother, and you’re family. It’s okay if you don’t want to though. I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. We just… We thought it would be a great idea.”_

_“Are you kidding me? Of course, I want to be your kid’s godfather! I just. Well, I didn’t think anyone would ever want me to be _**_that_**_ to their _**_kid_**_… Damn Ray. Are you sure you know what you’re walking into?”_ He laughed, finally raising his beer can to cheer with Ray, a gigantic dumb smile on his face.

That particular smile didn’t leave Jason’s face as they got up and told the news to the whole team. It made Ray giddy with mixed emotions, ranging from ecstasy to a little bit of anxiety. He was going to be a dad. And his best friend, his brother, was now committed to being a part of this whole new storyline with him.

That same smile was still on Jason’s face when they finally got back to their hammocks and tried to get some shut-eye before landing.

That made Ray, the man who felt like he didn’t belong anywhere he went for half his life, feel like his family is right here with him on this plane, as well as with Naima and their future baby to come.And quite frankly, he never expected to get this lucky.

**

“Well?!”

Naima gently nudges Ray's shoulder, done trying to get her husband to react. He finally looks up to her, a wide smile on her face.

_“Oh, he said yes. He asked about our sanity, though. He did say, and I quote — No one in his right mind would think that asking me to take responsibility for a kid in case anything happens to his parents is a good idea. But hey, he said yes anyway.”_

_“He’s not wrong. What about the rest of them?”_ Naima asks, a smile matching her husbands

_“Adam said to buckle up for the next 6 months, Swanny asked if he needed to deliver more beer to the house.”_

_“Ahhh yes, Swanny being Swanny and Adam being the Dad of it all. Sounds about right.”_

Ray chuckles before kissing his wife, watching her quickly fall back asleep after a minute.

Everything was… Well, hell, **_everything was perfect_**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Please leave kudos and comment :)
> 
> Twitter/Tumblr/Insta : @HitTheRoadJus


	6. Misfits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A study in 10 chapters on how Jason Hayes and Ray Perry became friends, co-workers, but most importantly — brothers.
> 
> Chapter 6 — Bravo Team is changing and expanding, bringing in new responsibilities for both Ray and Jason. A new member is set to join the team, and Adam takes this opportunity to get creative on his last hazing before leaving the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, ALRIGHT, I SUCK AT UPDATING. 
> 
> I'm not going to make any promises as to when I'll update again or if I'll be more steady (because truth be told I have no idea), but I promise this story will not die 😬
> 
> For now, please enjoy this chapter that I had tremendous fun to write. 🤓

It’s still dark when Ray awakes that day. A quick glance at his phone and he realizes it’s 4:18 am. He can’t seem to sleep more than 4 hours straight since he got back from their latest mission in Latvia a few days ago. But truth be told, since his daughter was born 6 months ago, sleep became a luxury.

Jameelah changed everything and expanded his life into millions of possibilities. Ray never thought of himself as a family man before meeting Naima, and he never thought of himself as a dad before Jameelah came along. But there he is now, on a Tuesday night, staring at his sleeping baby girl at 4 in the morning

He never thought his life would turn into this, being 27 and a trusted member of one of the finest Navy SEAL Team, a husband and a father. Gosh, his mom would be so proud. 10 years ago, he would’ve bet either on going to prison for beating someone to death or maybe dying after one too many nights drinking his weight. It’s such a strange feeling, looking back on that last decade and realizing how many changes occurred.

And today is another important day, with their new candidate joining the team. He’s been unanimously chosen by the whole team, and Ray is really looking forward to seeing how Sonny Quinn fits within their current team. Not only is he an excellent door-kicker, but he’s got that witty, quirky, funny vibe that Bravo has been missing ever since Swanny decided to leave. Plus, Sonny is the first green teamer joining since Trent did a year ago, and himself before him. It’s always an event of some sort, and it makes Ray giddy with anticipation. 

Bravo has changed a lot over the last couple of month, with Swanny stepping down and Adam set to join Green Team as an instructor at the end of this year, the roles are already changing. Jason has been promoted to Bravo 2 and Adam is definitely planning on handing him the reins of the team when he leaves comes December. Surprisingly enough, he also decided to promote Ray to Bravo 3, and expect him to be ready to fit in Bravo 2’s shoes, being Jason’s right hand when the time comes. 

Maybe it should scare Ray, with things moving this fast on the work side and getting used to being a dad, but it really doesn’t. It feels like everything has been moving toward this for the last few years, and he is 100% ready to be whatever DEVGRU needs him to be, wherever that may be. And if it allows him to work even more closely with the man he now considers his blood brother, well that’s even better.

Finally ripping his gaze away from his beautiful sleeping little girl, Ray quickly makes his way through the house, gathering his stuff and jumping into his truck. It’s early but he’s fairly sure he’ll find a company on base, Jason practically lives here these days anyway, and Adam and Trent have the weirdest sleeping schedule. But even if he finds himself alone, there’s always the gym to hit or Blackburn to bully into endless talks — the man is too easy to mess with and Ray loves talking with him for hours when they’re off duty. 

*******

_“Well well, look who decided to show!”_ Jason greets him when Ray finally reaches the cages’ room, dropping his duffel on the floor of his own.

_“What do you mean ‘decided to show’? It’s not even 5 am, you animal”_ he answers his teammate with a grin, _“at this point, I’m fairly convinced you’ve decided to sleep here every night”._

Jason motions out from the chair he’s sitting in to stand next to his cage’s door frame, clutching his coffee mug tight as he watches Ray sort through his mess, determined to tidy his stuff up while he has some time to burn.

_“Did you get any sleep at all? Or did Alana throw you out?”_ He asks playfully, his back still turned at Jason.

When his mischievous question is only answered with silence, Ray freezes in motion, quickly turning back to look at Jason. There’s a definite painful expression painted on his partner’s face, and Ray’s blood almost turns solid.

_“What happened?”_ He asks, his voice soft and encouraging.

_“Let’s say she isn’t thrilled about me going for Bravo 1. I think she thought I’d get out of the teams at some point, and seeing as I’m now going for Master Chief she figured out I won’t be out in 4 years.” _

_“I thought you guys talked about this first hand? She wasn’t on board with you going through the Teams?”_

_“Yeah, she was. Back when it was just the two of us, barely legal and practically living on love alone. Now we’ve got two kids, a mortgage, and more fights to our name.”_

_“Do you think she didn’t know what she signed up for?”_

Jason sighs as he drops on Ray’s chair inside his cage, his gaze fixed on an invisible point, slowly drinking his coffee. In more than two years of knowing Jason, Ray doesn’t think he’s ever seen him this way. He’s been alongside him on the battlefield, through multiple deployments already, but this look on Jason’s face? It frightens him. 

_“Yeah, she did. But that doesn’t mean she’s okay with the way we’ve been living for a while. We just both need space, so yeah I’m crashing here for a couple of days. No big deal”_ he finally answers, gulping down the last drops of coffee he has left.

_“Well, you’re an idiot. You should have said so. Mi casa es tu casa, brother, you know that already” _Ray answers, turning to get back at his tidying up.

_“I don’t think Naima would be thrilled that I crashed your couch, man”_ he whimpers, brushing his eyes

_“Naima would be thrilled to have you around. I haven’t heard Jameelah laugh this hard with anyone else besides us than she does with you”_ Ray says with a smile.

_“I’ll consider it.”_

Ray knows enough about Jason Hayes by now to figure out that this particular conversation is over, so he engages on another rather massive talk: _Sonny Quinn, the new member of Bravo._

_“So what do you suggest we make of Quinn? Do you have any particular hazing idea in mind?”_

_“Well, first off, beers like anyone else. But then I figured we should also have him wear Aggie gear since he’s such Longhorns fan. We should run it by Adam, see if he has anything in mind. It’s likely his last hazing before leaving Bravo, I figure he’s gonna want to go out with a bang” _Jace answers with a mischievous grin on his face.

_“Who wants to go out with a bang?” _Adam asks, walking in at the very best moment conveniently.

_“Speak of the damn Devil!”_

Sometimes Ray thinks he’s _freaking Yoda or a mastermind of some sort_, and he appears whenever his name is mentioned. He makes a mental note to actually ask him how he does it every freaking time before he leaves the team. 

Adam hops on the table in the middle of the room, watching his two teammates with this well-practiced straight face — but both Ray and Jason know better by now, Adam is _ruthless_ when it comes to hazing a new teammate or generally making fun of any of them. He’s Bravo 1, aka the man they’d follow through any battlefield, but he’s also_ a goddamn master at pretty much everything_ — including practical jokes and hazing.

_“We were thinking of having Quinn wear Aggie gear instead of Longhorns since he seems to cultivate his Texan pride so much, it should hurt his ego enough,”_ Ray says, motioning out of his cage to grab a couple of clean uniforms to hang.

_“You know, I kept thinking… No rookie should be allowed to have a beard better than mine, don’t you think?”_ Adam finally says after a while, sipping at his cup of coffee with the shadow of a smile hanging over his face.

Ray can’t help but burst out laughing, and Jason just has this _“I can’t believe you just said that but I think I just love you even more for it” _face. 

Hazing settled then.

And when Quinn joins them a couple of hours later, he ends up sitting in the middle of the room with Adam shaving off his beard, his new teammates laughing as they wait for him to hang the Aggie gear they find for him to wear to a bar the next night. He looks like he’s 12 for about a week before his beard starts to grow back, and he swears he’ll never forgive them for having him _“break his written-in-blood pact to his beloved Longhorns”._

But he fits right in with the pack. He fights his way through everyone’s heart pretty quickly, making everyone laugh with every single one of his terrors (and there are **_a lot _**of Sonny Quinn terrors, as they find out gradually). 

Sonny Quinn quickly becomes another one of his brothers, and Ray Perry— _the man who never thought he’d became a father, the man who never thought he’d became a husband_ — finds out he’s becoming a member of a team that keeps growing into an actual _family_.

And when he finds Jason asleep on his couch with his daughter peacefully asleep on his partner’s chest, he somehow doesn’t think life can get any better than this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yell at me on [Tumblr](http://hittheroadjus.tumblr.com) and get some sweet first look and sneak peeks at chapters before it drops on my [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/HitTheRoadJus) (I occasionally ramble about tv shows, music, fictional characters, and soccer, because I'm that kind of lame).


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